Appalachian School of Holistic Herbs

Fact: Herbs have been used for thousands of years for healing practices.Fact: The Appalachian Mountain region is one of the most botanically diverse areas in the country. Combine these facts with decades of hands-on practical teaching experience, and you have a perfect recipe for a successful school that teaches the value of herbs.

Located in the center of the Appalachians in Asheville, North Carolina, the Appalachian School of Holistic Herbs (ACHH) is the oldest herbal studies school in the Southeast. With more and more people becoming interested in alternatives to traditional medicine, the land itself can supply the answers. ACHH instructors teach and provide certifications for herbal healing and medicine-making.

Short Workshops

While you shouldn’t ignore the suggestions of your doctor when it comes to your and your family’s health and well-being, even members of the traditional healing practices admit that herbal medicine can make an ideal complement to other, more traditional cures. Short courses at the ACHH allow you to pick up tidbits of valuable information to use in your daily life. Some of the courses offered include:

Herbal Spring Tune-Up, where you’ll discover which herbs bloom in the early spring, how to prepare them for use, how to administer them and what to expect regarding their efficacy for abundant summer health.

Herbal Remedies for Chronic Inflammation is an ideal short course for people living with chronic pain and disease. You’ll learn recipes for internal and topical herbal preparations in the form of teas, edibles, oils, and more.

Forest Skills: Discovering Our Living Mountains is a day-long workshop that gives you hands-on experience in the woods surrounding Asheville. You’ll learn to identify trees, wildflowers, edible and medicinal plants. You’ll make ecological connections and expand your awareness of all that’s available in the Appalachians.

Certification Courses

The field of herbalism is not regulated by a specific organization, nor do any governing bodies set course standards set for the industry. With each extensive course you take through ACHH, you will receive a certification of completion, which you can use to boost your resume if you want to offer your services commercially.

Certification can strengthen your credentials if you want to add herbalism to complementary services, such as Oriental herbalism, acupuncture, chiropractic care or massage therapy. The courses offered at ACHH also prepare you for recognition by the American Herbalists Guild. Certification courses include:

Fundamentals of Herbalism is a 70-hour course for beginners. You’ll explore modern applications of timeless traditions, working with the plant kingdom to create tinctures, salves, oils and more. You’ll leave the course with tactile first-hand experience making herbal remedies in the school’s laboratory.

Energetic and Esoteric Herbalism is a six-month course that delves deeply into the subtle powers of plants and how they can bring mental and emotional balance. The course includes an introduction to flower essences and extensively covers human energy anatomy, as well as simple and subtle medicine-making. You will spend at least half of your time in sacred natural sites in the mountains.

Flower Essence Certification courses meet weekly for 10 months in series of classes that will help you cultivate an intimate relationship with plants. It will leave you ready to serve the people in your life and expand your current healing practice.

The school is located at 2 Westwood Pl, Asheville, NC 28806. Contact them at 828-350-1221 or through the website at www.herbsheal.com.